To secure protection of the roofs of buildings from the weather, shingles fabricated from asphalt, wood, or a diversity of other materials are used. Since these deteriorate with age and allow leakage, they must periodically be replaced. It is usual practice to detach and strip away the old shingles before applying new ones. Along with the old shingles, the roofing nails must be completely removed, because if they are sheared off, they would damage the new roofing and allow water to leak through. To remove shingles manually by a shovel, hammer or crowbar is a tiresome, difficult and slow operation and is expensive at today's labor, insurance and overhead costs.
My invention is designed to be used by an unskilled laborer and greatly increases the speed of the operation by markedly increasing the mechanical advantage and resultant leverage that can be applied to the shingles and nails. It can be safely used on roofs of any pitch in all directions and removes the nails without shearing. It leaves the roof deck clear and ready to install appropriate roofing material. The apparatus is lightweight, simple to operate, compact, portable, easy to control and will not run away from the operator at any height. It is uncomplicated with few parts, is durable and easy to maintain or repair. Auxiliary equipment such as an air compressor, electric power source or compressed gas supply are readily available. The cost of the apparatus is reasonable, can be amortized quickly and will more than pay for itself in labor savings. It exerts substantial leverage, sufficient to remove many layers of shingles.
My invention is a significant advance over manually operated equipment which rely on the strength of the laborer to do the job and it can be used in any bodily position.
It is also a substantial step forward over power driven, continuously operating rotary or reciprocating equipment which is not easily controlled because of its bulk, weight, momentum and inertia. These machines tend to shear nails off without pulling them out completely, might not clear up a roof properly, leading to possible defacing, marring or damaging the roofing surface and also necessitating further manual cleanup in which pieces of the shingles have to be removed along with nail bodies left in the roof. In addition, this equipment can be noisy and vibratory and this combined with its momentum can have a harmful effect on the roof support structure. At the fast speed of this machinery, where control is not as exact as with my apparatus, there is a potential for safety hazards high off the ground which might lead to injury to the operator or people below. Since my apparatus may be used in any direction, it is not limited to working in certain pathways which might be unsafe, particularly those which traverse to the edge of a roof. These machines need special transportation, whereas my apparatus can be easily carried by hand or transported by any vehicle.